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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25096639">COVID, Quantum Physics, and Captivating Captains</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IhasCat5/pseuds/IhasCat5'>IhasCat5</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Age Difference, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Happy James T. Kirk, Humor, Insecure James T. Kirk, James T. Kirk Has Issues, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, POV Female Character, POV First Person, Protective Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Reader is named, Sassy Spock (Star Trek), Soft James T. Kirk, Soft Spock</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:53:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,742</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25096639</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IhasCat5/pseuds/IhasCat5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I thought Star Trek was just supposed to be a TV show. One near and dear to my heart, yes, but still only entertainment brought to live by dedicated actors and TV/Film-makers.  So, tell me then, how is it that Captain Kirk and Spock are sitting on my couch, and the U.S.S. Enterprise is in my yard?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James T. Kirk &amp; Original Character(s), James T. Kirk &amp; Original Female Character(s), James T. Kirk &amp; Reader, James T. Kirk &amp; Spock, James T. Kirk/Original Character(s), James T. Kirk/Original Female Character(s), James T. Kirk/Reader, Pavel Chekov &amp; James T. Kirk &amp; Leonard "Bones" McCoy &amp; Spock &amp; Hikaru Sulu &amp; Nyota Uhura</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Tear in the Sky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ann gets a surprise visit by characters she knows all too well.  Problems arise.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The evening was quiet, save for the sound of chirping crickets and a couple of birds in the bushes outside my house that hadn't yet gone to sleep.  So, how exactly it could go from that to booming thunder and lightning crackling across the newly darkened sky in a matter of seconds was lost on me.  I was up immediately, the sound of the thunder wrenching me out of my half-asleep state.  I clambered out of bed, shaking hard from the suddenness of it all, and stumbled into the guest bedroom to look out the window.  I had to slap myself to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.  There, a ways above my backyard, was a swirling vortex. Powerful winds ripped up branches from the bushes lining my backyard and leaves and debris flew through the air all around.  As the hole torn in the sky opened up farther I noticed what looked to be stars and planets, as if I was looking through a portal to space.  All at once, vortex grew three times its original size and a giant space craft fell through and went careening to the ground into my yard. The whole house shook with the impact, throwing me backwards into my closet.  I yelled out in pain as I felt the impact and the door broke underneath me.  I cursed through gritted teeth, wondering how I was going to explain that to my parents.  I heaved myself back up, going to look out the window again and I was met with the sight of a heavily damaged yard and what looked to be a life size replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise.  It even had the logo printed on the top.  I rubbed my eyes, feeling extremely disoriented as I was once again met with the same bizarre image.  On second thought, I was going to have a way bigger problem than just a broken closet on my hands. </p><p>I ran down my ridiculously narrow stairs ( I say ran but it was more of an awkward speed hobble so as not to face-plant) and busted out the back entrance.  I was in awe.  <em>The </em>U.S.S. Enterprise was in my backyard.  THE U.S.S. ENTERPRISE WAS IN MY BACKYARD.  HOW WAS THIS HAPPENING?! I had to be dreaming.  <em>Had </em>to be.  So I could just do whatever I wanted until the dream was over.  But, what to do first? I stepped onto the deck and out towards the giant starship in my yard, feeling the cool wood beneath my bare feet.  I shivered as a breeze flitted through the grass and blew my hair in my face, feeling way too many sensations for a dream.  I heard a sound of some sort of machinery, perhaps a door opening, and saw Captain Kirk, Spock, and several red shirts come out the back of the ship where I remembered the shuttle port to be.  That's right, the ship doesn't have a pedestrian exit, and the transporter probably doesn't work after that impact.   Why am I using logic?  This is only a dream.  I ignored the nagging  voice at the back of my brain saying this wasn't a dream, because I really didn't want to face that I might have gone insane and would have to spend the rest of my days in the mental hospital.  This couldn't be real, so it had to be either of those options.  I sure hoped it wasn't the latter.  I stood still as Kirk turned to face me.  Spock was wandering around in the act of what I guessed was taking tricorder readings, while the two red shirts stood ramrod straight behind Kirk, their expressions giving away only slight bewilderment.  "Who are you?"  Kirk demanded, catching me with a piercing gaze.  "What is this place?"  </p><p>"Why are you asking me who I am?"  I said, slightly hysterical. "This is a dream, you shouldn't care who I am, because asking me who I am and where you are would make sense and my dreams don't make sense."  Spock looked up at me from where he was, and walked over to stand next to Kirk.  </p><p>"Miss, from what I have deducted, this is not a dream.  We are in a real, physical world."</p><p>"Then I must be insane."  </p><p>"No, no,  you're not insane."   Kirk said impatiently.  "Now, answer my questions."</p><p>"I-"  was all I could get out.  Kirk stepped forward and grabbed my shoulders tightly, shaking me. </p><p>"Pull yourself together!  I need to know where I am so we can get out of here!"</p><p>"W-well-"  I said, my voice cracking.  "I'm Ann, and this is Earth, year 2020, in what I believe is a completely different dimension from yours."  Kirk kept his hands on my shoulders, only loosening his grip on me slightly.    </p><p>"...How do you....know that?"  He said, eyeing me warily.  I was too shaken up to take the time to admire his face.</p><p>"Um,"  I gulped, realizing I was about to have to give them the biggest existential crisis of their lives.  "I kinda know who you guys are......and I also know that you're most definitely not supposed to be real."</p><p>"What exactly do you mean in stating that we're 'most definitely not supposed to be real?'"  Spock said as calmly as ever.  Like in the show I had grown so fond of, his Vulcan nature made him curious rather than scared in situations like the one he was in then.</p><p>"Why don't you guys follow me inside and I'll explain everything to the extent of what I know.  Now,"  I said, gesturing to the red shirts.  "Could you maybe send your security guards back to the ship?  You won't be needing them, I'm a pretty pacifistic person, and even if I  wanted to I probably couldn't hurt a fly with these noodle arms."  I laughed nervously, wiggling my arms.  "Besides, the less people that know what I'm about to tell you, the better."</p><p>"Alright," Kirk said, raising one brow slightly in suspicion. He dismissed the red shirts, before turning back to me. "But if you try anything-"</p><p>"I know, I know, you'll paralyze me with your laser guns."</p><p>"How did you know-"</p><p>"I'll  explain when we get inside, now, come on."  I waved towards my house, and they followed a little ways behind as I headed up the steps to my porch and opened the back door for them.  "Thank you."  Kirk muttered.  Spock went in after him, giving me a polite nod.</p><p>"You're probably used to holding doors open for ladies and not the other way around, huh?"  I jested, smiling at Kirk.  I was expecting one of his signature smirks, but instead I was met with a straight, unamused face.  <em>Guess he's not in a joking mood.</em>  </p><p>"Uh, sorry, follow me," I said, leading them through the room next to the kitchen, the entry hallway, and down a step into the living room.  I gestured to the couch, and they sat down.  I dragged a chair from the side of the room and positioned it on the other side of the coffee table from them before taking a seat.  I then went silent, realizing I had no idea where to start.  </p><p>"Well?"  Kirk prompted, making a sarcastic hand gesture that said <em>get on with it.  </em>I took a deep breath, before answering.</p><p>"So, in this universe, or dimension or whatever, we have a show called 'Star Trek'.  It's gone on for many generations and has had many different iterations-"  Kirk cut me off.</p><p>"I don't want to know about the forms of entertainment you have here, I want to know how you know who we are and how you know we're not from your dimension!" I took a deep breath, rubbing my forehead in exasperation.  This was definitely the Kirk I knew from the original Star Trek show.</p><p>"Well, maybe if you'd let me finish what I have to say, then your questions would be answered! Isn't that a thought?" He looked a little taken aback, but after a moment of awkward silence, he mumbled something under his breath and gestured for me to continue. </p><p>"The first 'Star Trek', labeled the original series, ran for three seasons starting in 1966.  The main characters were Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock, and Bones.  There were numerous other supporting characters, including Uhura, Scotty, and Chekov.  They all worked aboard the starship U.S.S. Enterprise, which was on a 5 year diplomatic mission in space."</p><p>"How do you know this isn't just some sort of big coincidence?"</p><p>"It could be, but everything seems to line up completely so far. I mean, you look exactly like Kirk in show, and you act like him too.  Same thing for you, Spock."  I nodded in his direction.  "The ship also looks like an exact replica of the one from the show, from what I've seen."</p><p>"Fascinating."  Spock said.</p><p>"But extremely unnerving," replied Kirk.</p><p>"Pssh, how do you think I feel? There are two fictional characters sitting on my couch, and there's a freaking starship in my yard that's traversed multiple galaxies and we've barely just figured out rockets that come back to the ground in one piece after a short trip to the moon."</p><p>"Well, I just found out there's a TV show about me, so I guess we're even."  Kirk turned to the Vulcan seated next to him.  "So, Spock, do you think it's safe to say we're no longer in our dimension?"</p><p>"From the information I have gathered so far, I believe it to be an acceptable conclusion until we are proven otherwise."</p><p>"Ok, that settles that.  But, how exactly do we get out of here?"</p><p>"That, Captain, is something we have yet to figure out."</p><p>"There's something else." I piped up.  "It might add further complications to your current problem."</p><p>"What is that," Kirk said, turning back to me with an apprehensive look on his face.</p><p>"We're in the midst of a pandemic."   I replied, grimacing.  "A highly contagious string of virus by the name of COVID-19. It's a respiratory illness, in the flu family I think.  We're currently all quarantined, and we're supposed to wear masks and keep 6 feet apart when going out in public.  Keyword on 'supposed.'  We started opening up less essential businesses like restaurants but cases have gone up again so we might have to shut down again.  So, unless you've already gone through this in you're world and are all vaccinated, if you figure out how to leave you're going to have to disinfect your entire ship and find a way to decontaminate yourselves beforehand. Otherwise you'll start a pandemic where you're from."  Kirk rubbed his thumb over his mouth, dragging his lip down.  A twitch I noticed from the show, he seemed to do it whenever he was stumped.  </p><p>"So, we not only have to figure out how to get out of here, but we also have to do so without accidentally infecting everyone in our world.  Anything else you'd like to add?"</p><p>"Well, this is probably a given, but you have to find a way to hide your ship.  People are gonna see it and they're going to ask questions.  Someone will inevitably call the police.  When the police find out, the government will find out because the police will have no idea what to do, and pretty soon we'll have the FBI knocking down my door because there's a giant alien spaceship in my backyard."</p><p>"We're not alien-"</p><p>"You are to us.  So please, try and get on that now because I really don't want you all to end up as lab experiments and for our government to have the ability to copy your high tech weaponry."  Kirk nodded, pulling out his communicator and flipping it open.</p><p>"Scotty, Kirk here."</p><p>"Aye, what is it, Captain?"</p><p>"How's the damage on the ship?"</p><p>"Not too bad, Captain, the ship wasn't traveling at too high of a velocity when we crashed.  I've got my men working on it right now.  Already got the transporter up and running again."</p><p>"Well, I need you to figure out a way to hide the ship."</p><p>"Captain, I don't see how we can do that without getting the ship up into space and back into orbit around the planet."</p><p>"That won't work." I interjected.  "Our satellites will pick you up."</p><p>"Captain, who's that?"</p><p>"Her name's Ann.  She lives in the house we crashed in back of."</p><p>"Aye, well, tell the lass we send our sincerest apologies."</p><p>"Apology accepted." I said, smiling.</p><p>"Now, back to the problem at hand," said Kirk. </p><p>"Like I said Captain, I have no idea how we could pull that off."</p><p>"You guys don't happen to have a cloaking device, do you?"  I asked.</p><p>"Unfortunately, no," Kirk sighed.  "The Federation signed a treaty with the Romulans in 2311 banning us from developing or even researching cloaking technology."</p><p>"Well, shit."</p><p>"I possesses a limited amount of knowledge on cloaking technology,"  Spock cut in. </p><p>"Really?" I said, looking hopeful.  "Do you think you could construct one?"</p><p>"Possibly, with some help, but it will most likely not be sustainable enough to last us the entire time we are here.  It will only serve as a short term solution."</p><p>"Well, a short term solution is better then none.  Get on it Spock."   Kirk slapped Spock on the back, and he flinched. </p><p>"Yes, Captain," he said, getting up and exiting through the back door to return to the ship.</p><p>"Did you hear that, Scotty?"</p><p>"Aye, Sir."</p><p>"I need you to do what you can to help Spock."</p><p>"I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I sure will try, Sir."</p><p>"Good.  Kirk out." He flipped the communicator closed and reattached it to his belt.  It then occurred to me that I was now in fact alone in the room with Kirk.  Goodness, what would my parents say? Oh yeah, my parents.  <em>My parents! </em>How the hell was I going to explain all this to them!? I shot up in my chair, startling Kirk onto his feet.</p><p>"What's wrong?"  He put a hand on my shoulder, but unlike last time, his grip was gentle.</p><p>"My parents!  They've been sleeping upstairs this whole time! Wait a minute...how on Earth did they manage to stay asleep through all the noise?  The thunder, the ship crashing and shaking the house, us talking."</p><p>"Maybe they're just deep sleepers?" He suggested.</p><p>"I'm gonna go upstairs and check on them.  You stay here."  Kirk nodded, settling back into the couch as I turned and headed up the stairs.  I ever so quietly opened the door to their bedroom, hesitantly peering inside.  My eyes widened in horror.  The bed was empty.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi, y'all, this is my first ever multiple chapter fanfic on here, and I'm excited to be writing it. I'm not sure about a constant update schedule, but I'll try and be faithful. Feedback and kudos are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Sleeping Arrangments</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The captain and 2 first officers are offered a place to sleep.  Ann takes some space drugs.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"They're not here! JIM, MY PARENTS ARE NOT HERE!" I would've cringed at accidentally calling him by his first name when we were definitely not on a first name basis, let alone nick-name basis, but I was too busy running around the upstairs in a flurry to try and find where they'd gone. I heard footsteps bounding up the stairs and Kirk burst into the bedroom.</p><p>"What do you mean, they're not here?"</p><p>"I mean they're not here, dumb-ass," I snapped, stepping out of the closet I had just checked. "They've gone! Disappeared!"</p><p>"Hey, no need to get snappy with me. Just calm down, and I'll help you look for them." I let out an exasperated puff of air, checking in the bathroom one more time before stepping past Kirk and heading into the guest bedroom across the hallway.</p><p>"Why don't you look downstairs for me, and maybe check the backyard and the front yard." I didn't bother to look at him while speaking, doing a once over in the bedroom then moving on to check in mine.</p><p>"I'll enlist some help. I'm sure they're safe, wherever they are." I turned around to look at him and was met with a small, reassuring smile. I couldn't help but smile back.</p><p> </p><p>We looked everywhere, scaling every nook and cranny of the house and the yard, but they were nowhere to be found. I even tried calling them, but found both of their cellphones were still in the house. </p><p>"It's like they just...vanished off the face of the Earth," I said, my voice quiet. I was sitting across from Kirk at the dining room table, sipping a cup of coffee.</p><p>"Strange..." Kirk said, deep in thought. I wasn't even sure if he had actually heard what I said.</p><p>"Jim--" I said, before catching myself. "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry, what would you prefer I call you?" Kirk's eyes snapped up.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"What would you like me to call you? Should I call you Mr. Kirk?"</p><p>"No, no." He waved his hand. "Jim is fine. 'Mr. Kirk' reminds me too much of my days teaching at the academy."</p><p>"Ok, Jim, may I ask exactly how you and your crew got here?"</p><p>"I'm not exactly sure. The ship was orbiting around a planet we had gotten a distress call from. We hadn't yet transported down when there was a severe electrical storm. When we passed through, the ship's power went out and we were all thrown down. When we finally recovered from the shock, and the ship's power came back on, we found ourselves heading straight for a large stretch of grassy land. It was too late to stop the ship by the time we realized, so we crashed, and now here we are."</p><p>"An electrical storm? A storm was what woke me up. There was thunder and lightning and suddenly there was a hole in the sky and then your ship came through. It was almost like there was a tear in the fabric of the universe itself. I could see space." Kirk hummed thoughtfully.</p><p>"Do you think maybe your parents' disappearance had to do with what brought us here?"</p><p>"That would mean they're back in your universe, wouldn't it? Oh god, please tell me the planet you were orbiting is human friendly. What if they teleported there and died instantly!?" I buried my face in my hands and whimpered. I was glad I was too tired to cry, because I did not want to start sobbing in front of Kirk.</p><p>"The planet has a breathable atmosphere and has plenty of plant and wildlife. It's a pretty peaceful planet, with a peaceful humanoid species inhabiting it. I wonder why we got a distress call from there..." I took my hands away from my face and rested my head on the table.</p><p>"I hope they're there, then. That way at least they're safe." Kirk sighed, wringing his hands together.</p><p>"Me too." The corners of his mouth twitched up in a small smile. "It's late. You should rest. I'm going back to the ship," he said, moving to get up.</p><p>"Wait-" I said. He paused, then slowly sat back down.</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"I have places for you and a few other first officers to sleep. You can take my parent's bed, Mr. Spock can take the guest bed, and Dr. McCoy can take mine if he doesn't mind sleeping in a room full of pink and turquoise. Or, one of them could share the bed with you, if you don't mind, and I'll take my bed. My parents' bed is pretty big, so it could easily sleep two without you having to be that close."</p><p>"I appreciate the hospitality, but-"</p><p>"C'mon, I've seen the beds on your ship in the show, and they just look so uncomfortable. It just wouldn't feel right if you all slept in the ship while I have nice cozy beds just waiting to be slept in!"</p><p>"Ann, I'm the Captain, I need to be in the ship just in case anything goes wrong."</p><p>"I'm sure you can just put someone else you trust in command, and I mean, there's no imminent danger. Plus," I said, my voice lowering to barely above a whisper. "I don't want to be alone in the house." Kirk's shoulders sank in defeat.</p><p>"Alright, I'll let the others know." He got up from his chair, taking his communicator out and flipping it open. "Kirk here."</p><p>"Bones. What is it, Jim?"</p><p>"The girl who lives in the house has offered you, me, and Spock places to sleep."</p><p>"That's very kind of her. Me and my aging back will certainty appreciate the offer. Should I come in?"</p><p>"Yes, you can, she'll let you in the back door. Can you let Spock know?"</p><p>"That green-blooded hobgoblin is still working on that damn cloaking device with Scotty. They say they won't be done 'til early morning."</p><p>"We'll tell him tomorrow, then. Kirk out."</p><p> </p><p>After a minute I heard a rap at the door, and  I walked over to let Bones in. He glanced around the house before turning back to me.</p><p>"This is a nice place you got here, darlin'. What's your name?"</p><p>"Thank you. My name's Ann. It's nice to meet you." I held out my hand, and he took it and gave it a firm shake.</p><p>"Hey, I never got a handshake," Kirk spoke up from the dining room. "How come he gets one?"</p><p>"I'm sorry," I said, turning towards him with a raised eyebrow. "I guess I was too much in shock to remember my manners. Anyways, why don't you boys follow me up to where you'll be sleeping."</p><p>"Yes, ma'am." Kirk said, giving me a salute. I saw Bones glaring at him out of the corner of my eye.</p><p>"Watch it, Jim. She's giving us a place to sleep, so be nice."</p><p>"That's right, Jim, listen to your doctor." I giggled, gesturing for them to follow me up the stairs. "Wait here a moment." I slipped inside the guest bedroom, pulling out the couch bed and then brushing past them and heading into my parents' bedroom and grabbing some sheets and blankets to make the bed with. When the bed was ready, I beckoned Bones to come inside. "This is where you'll sleep, Doctor."</p><p>"Call me Leonard."</p><p>"Alright, Leonard, do you need a change of clothing? I can let you borrow my Dad's."</p><p>"No, thank you. I have my Star-fleet issued sleepwear with me."</p><p>"Alright, goodnight then," I stepped out of the room, slowly closing the door.</p><p>"Goodnight, Ann." The door clicked shut, and I turned back to Kirk.</p><p>"Now I just need to change the sheets on my parents bed." I went to walk past him, but he stopped me.</p><p>"No, no, I'd just like to go to sleep now if that's ok."</p><p>"Of course." He followed me into the room, and I pulled the sheets back for him. I let him crawl underneath the blankets, before tucking him in. He chuckled at me.</p><p>"Was that really necessary?"</p><p>"Of course it was. Are you ok sleeping in your clothes?"</p><p>"Yes, I'm fine. Goodnight, Ann."</p><p>"Goodnight, Jim," I said, gently patting his chest. I closed the curtains, then left the room.</p><p>I laid down in my own bed, my eyes drooping, but not staying shut. My mind was restless. Thoughts and images flashed through my head. The Enterprise in my yard. My poor parents stuck on a planet in the Star Trek Universe, trying to survive. James Kirk, in the flesh, sleeping in the bedroom across the hall from mine. Kirk was my favorite character from Star Trek, besides Spock. I hadn't liked him at first, in fact I disliked him, but he had grown on me in his own aggravating little way.  I had always dreamed of him becoming real and whisking me away, as I do all my fictional crushes.  But, now that he was actually here, complications became apparent, and worries and insecurities bubbled up to the surface.  I was not all that pretty, I was probably too snarky for his liking, and I was a teenager.  Old enough to be legal, but still, a teenager.  Even if, against all the odds, he liked me, I would have to enter the relationship knowing it could never last.  He would have to leave, and I couldn't come with him.  I dragged my hands across my face and groaned quietly.  I was getting ahead of myself.  Knowing I had no chance of going to sleep any time soon, I slowly slid out of the bed and tip toed down the stairs.  I noticed the kitchen light was still on.  I must've forgot to turn it off.  I smiled widely when I saw my cat, Clementine, curled up on the couch.  "Thank goodness you're still here, huh," I cooed softly, stroking her head.  "I don't know what I'd do if you'd disappeared too."  I heard a quiet groan from behind me and spun around, preparing to fight, but I was only met with the sight of Kirk sitting at the dining table, lifting his head up and blinking sleepily at me.</p><p>"Oh, Jim, can you not sleep either?"  He let out a long exhale, laying his head back in his arms.</p><p>"I'm just so used to the constant hum of the ship's engines."</p><p>"I could turn on the fan in your room, if you'd like.  That's what I always use for white noise."  Was I being selfish in not offering to let him go back to the ship?  He would probably sleep better, but I really didn't want him to leave.    </p><p>"That'd be nice, thank you.  What about you?"</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>"Why can't you sleep?"  I sighed, blowing a loose strand of hair our of my face.</p><p>"Just...a lot of stuff going on in my head.  The coffee I had recently doesn't help."</p><p>"Well, you can't stay up all night either," he said, pushing his seat back and standing up.  "We both need to be sharp for tomorrow. "  I tilted my head at him in confusion, and he chuckled.</p><p>"Don't think you're off the hook.  You've got to help us get out of here, too!"  He lightly patted me on the back. "You're the one who knows the ropes of this place, not us."</p><p>"Well--I was just planning on reading for a bit, and then going back to bed.  Just let me turn on the fan for you, and I'll be fine."</p><p>"Nonsense, why don't I call med-bay and have them get you an alpha-wave inducer.  That'll knock you right out."</p><p>"Sure, I'll take your drugs.  Are you sure they won't kill me?"</p><p>"You'll be totally fine.  I promise."  He gave my shoulder a squeeze, before exiting the house and heading towards the ship.  I heard the muffled sound of his voice as he spoke into the communicator fading into the distance.  It took a while for him to return, so in the meantime I sat on the couch with Clementine, petting her and listening to the comforting sound of her purring.  When Kirk finally returned, my whole body was heavy with exhaustion.  He didn't look much better.  I could see bags beginning to form underneath his eyes.  I saw he held a needle iin his hand, and I shrunk back in fear.</p><p>"I-I think I'm fine now, I can just-  I mean, have you ever even given someone a shot before?!  Surely you don't-"  He put a finger over my lips.</p><p>"Shhhh, you're going to wake Bones up.  I won't hurt you.  I've done it on myself before."  I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion.</p><p>"Well, that's reassuring," I said sarcastically.  He rolled his eyes at me. </p><p>"Take your arm out of your sleeve and I'll give you the shot.  By the time we've gone upstairs and you've turned the fan on and gotten into bed, it'll kick in like that."  He snapped his fingers for effect.  I hesitantly pulled my arm from my shirt and turned away so I wouldn't have to look.  I felt him softly pinch my skin and winced slightly when I felt the prick of the needle.  He slid the needle out, his hand lingering a little longer before he let go.  I relaxed, putting my arm back in my sleeve.  "Does it hurt?"  I looked up at him.</p><p>"A little."  Kirk smirked.</p><p>"Want me to kiss it better," he said, winking.  I wanted to snap back with some quick witted retort, but all that came out was a measly 'no thanks, I'm good.'  His smile fell.  "You alright, Ann?"  I nodded, giving my cat a kiss on the head and then lifting myself off the couch.</p><p>"I'm all good.  Thank you."   </p><p>"Of course."  The smile was back, and I couldn't help but return it.  "Alright, up we go."  He put his hand on the small of my back and led me up the stairs.  It took all of my willpower not to lean into his side.  He walked me into my parents bedroom, and I separated from him to turn the fan on.</p><p>"Do you want it facing you?"  I asked him.  He had already gotten into bed, the sheets wrinkled up at his knees.</p><p>"I'm alright.  You should get to bed before it kicks in and I have to carry you there."  </p><p>"Ok, ok, I'm going.  Goodnight."  I started for the door, but he called out for me.</p><p>"Wait, you're not going to tuck me in again?"  I let out an exasperated puff of air before spinning around to pull the sheets up to his neck.  </p><p>"Goodnight, you baby."</p><p>"Goodnight."  He said, looking very pleased with himself.  I flicked his nose before exiting the room and crawling back into my own bed, which now seemed so comfy and warm as I sunk into it like a rock in a river.  I was out like a light.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Woohoo, another chapter!<br/>I'm on a roll.<br/>Again, probably won't be uploading on a schedule, but I'll update as often as possible.<br/>Feedback and kudos appreciated!<br/>Thanks for reading lovelies &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Getting Down To Business....More Or Less</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A meeting is held, Ann gets a tour, and Kirk learns a thing or two about modern tech.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I woke up to the comforting sounds of lively chatter coming from downstairs. From what I could make out, Bones and Kirk were in a heated discussion about something, I couldn't quite figure out what, and Spock would occasionally interject with his own anecdote or sarcastic comment. I smiled knowing Spock was back inside the house, because that meant he had probably completed the cloaking device and it was up and working successfully. I put on a t shirt and a pair of jeggings, actually putting a bit of effort into my look and taking the time to brush my hair and put on a light amount of eye-shadow, then headed downstairs</p><p>"Good morning, sunshine. How'd you sleep?" Bones said, looking up at me from his place at the dining room table. I took the seat across from him, Kirk and Spock on either side of me.</p><p>"I slept fine, thanks to your space drugs and Jim's surprisingly decent shot administrating skills." Bone's face fell as he turned to Kirk.</p><p>"Your what? You gave her a shot, Jim? You've only given yourself a shot once, and you were barely able to find the vein. What were you thinking?!"</p><p>"Hey, hey," Kirk put his hands up in defense. "You heard her. I was very gentle, I didn't miss the vein, and I even asked one of the nurses for pointers. Look at her Bones, she's totally fine! Still alive and kicking."</p><p>"Well, I'm not fine, but that has nothing to do with you." The room went silent for a moment. Damn my morbid and self deprecating sense of humor.</p><p>"What do you-" Kirk started, but I stopped him before he could finish the question.</p><p>"So, Spock, did you and Scotty finish the cloaking device?" He nodded.</p><p>"Affirmative. The cloaking device was completed and installed on the Enterprise with only a few minor setbacks that were quickly addressed and fixed. The device will work for approximately 13 days and 4.2 hours before it runs out of power and we will have to find a new method of obscuring the ship."</p><p>"That's good. Good work, Spock."</p><p>"Why, thank you, Ann." He replied, the corners of his mouth twitching up in the smallest of smiles.</p><p>"So," Kirk piped up. "What's for breakfast?" I gave him a slightly exasperated look.</p><p>"Do you boys like toast? 'Cause it's either that, or cereal if I'm cooking."</p><p>"Cereal is fine." Kirk grinned.</p><p>"What about you two?" I said, looking between Bones and Spock.</p><p>"Toast would be sufficient," Spock replied.</p><p>"I'll have cereal, thank you," added Bones. I nodded, taking two slices of bread and popping them in the toaster, then walking over to the pantry to grab the cereal.</p><p>"We have Raisin Bran, Cheerios, and Life. Which one do you want, Jim?"</p><p>"What's 'Life?'" Jim said. Guess they must not have some of the brands we have in our universe.</p><p>"I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, other than the fact that it's the sweeter option of the three."</p><p>"I'll have that, then."</p><p>"Got a sweet tooth, huh? What about you, Bones, what do you want?"</p><p>"I'll have Raisin Bran." Kirk made a gagging noise.</p><p>"Oh, come on, Raisin Bran is not that bad," I laughed as I grabbed two bowls out of the cupboard, filling them with cereal and then pouring the milk over top. I gave Kirk and Bones their cereal, then grabbed one of the pieces of toast, buttered it and put it on a plate before handing it to Spock. "There you go." Spock nodded, which I guessed was his way of saying thank you. I grabbed the other piece of toast for myself, slathered it with strawberry jam, then grabbed a cup of vanilla yogurt from the fridge and a spoon. I then set my food down on the table and took a seat.</p><p>"So," Kirk said through a mouthful of cereal. "About today's agenda." Spock politely swallowed his food before answering.</p><p>"Now that the cloaking device is in place and working, our next priority is to deduce how to return to our dimension."</p><p>"Yes, yes." Thankfully this time Kirk's mouth was free of any chewed bits of his breakfast. "After we're finished with breakfast, I'll hold a meeting aboard the ship to address the issue." Bones scoffed.</p><p>"I think issue is a bit of an understatement."</p><p>"If issue is an understatement, than we don't have time to discuss what the proper term is." Kirk shot back. "Now, I think it's fair that Ann attends this meeting. We're in her house after all, and she knows the most about this world." I smiled shyly at Kirk.</p><p>"I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll try."</p><p> </p><p>After we finished eating, I put the dishes in the sink and went over to where Kirk, Bones, and Spock were waiting for me at the back door. Kirk made a grand show of opening the door for me. I snorted.</p><p>"Quite the gentleman, are we now?" He only smirked at me in return, fetching his communicator to get in touch with the transport room.</p><p>"We're ready to beam up."</p><p>"NO WE ARE NOT!" I yelled, hoping the ensign manning the transport could here me.</p><p>"Hang on a second," Kirk said into the communicator before turning to me. "What's wrong?" He asked, giving me a confused look.</p><p>"I do not under any circumstances want to be transported anywhere, thank you very much."</p><p>"I assure you the transport is quite safe. The technology has been perfected over many years." Spock said, one of his eyebrows raised in question.</p><p>"I don't care if it's safe. I'd just prefer not to have my molecules torn apart and put back together again and then have to live the rest of my life in existential dread knowing that I'm not actually my original self, I'm just a clone, and I never will be my original self ever again," I said all in one breath. Kirk blinked, staring at me as if I was wearing some ridiculous hat.</p><p>"I....guess I never thought about it that way. Honestly, I wish I had continued not to think about it that way." He turned back to his communicator. "Tell Scotty to open up the shuttle bay. Kirk out." Kirk gestured in the direction of the back of the ship. "Shall we?"</p><p>"We shall." I followed him, feeling extremely relieved to have narrowly avoided what would've been quite the traumatic experience.</p><p>We reached the shuttle bay and Spock helped me up, as it was a bit of a ways up and I was too short to have any hope of making it without aid. Kirk and Bones came up after and we traveled past the shuttles, which I stopped to gawk at before being pushed forward by Kirk. We made it out into the hallway of the ship, heading towards the meeting room. I tried to hide my excitement at actually being on the U.S.S. Enterprise as we entered the meeting room and Kirk pulled out a seat for me, which I gladly took. He sat down in the seat next to me. I turned to Scotty, who was on the other side of me, and greeted him. "Hello, lass," he said, his face lighting up. "You must be Ann! I'm Montgomery Scott, but you can just call me Scotty."</p><p>"It's nice to meet you, Scotty! I've heard all about you. You're the best engineer on the ship." </p><p>His face went a little red, and he shook his head bashfully.</p><p>"Aw, you're jokin'. I'm alright, but I'm not the best." I scoffed, playfully patting him on the shoulder.</p><p>"Whatever you say, I still think you're the best."</p><p>"Enough flirting," Kirk piped up. "The meeting's about to start, and I've got to introduce you to everyone." I spun around.</p><p>"I---I wasn't," I spluttered. He waved his hand in dismissal, and I decided it wasn't worth it. Let him be jealous.</p><p>"Alright everyone," Kirk said, loud enough to drown everyone else's voice out. The room went silent. "I'd like to introduce you all to Ann. She lives in the house we crashed behind." Everyone turned to stare at me, and I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment as I waved shyly. "Now, we have several problems to address. The first is we have somehow ended up in another dimension, so although we are on Earth, it is very different from the Earth we know. The second is Ann's parents disappeared at the same time we appeared in this dimension. We can assume that what brought us here also brought them back to our dimension, meaning they are probably exactly where we were before we were thrown into this dimension. So, our two main objectives are to get ourselves back to our dimension, and get Ann's parents back to this dimension. The third and final problem is that the Earth in this dimension is currently suffering from an epidemic of a virus called 'COVID-19', so we have to be careful about the amount of contact we make with other people here, and when we figure out how to get back, we should take precautions so we don't infect everyone in our world. Any suggestions or thoughts?"</p><p>"Um, can I say something," I asked. Kirk nodded.</p><p>"The Enterprise has a very advanced medical team, and we're currently nowhere near a cure for COVID, which our nutcase president certainly isn't helping with. Is there any way you could help us find a cure or vaccine?" There was a short period of silence before Kirk answered.</p><p>"That would be breaking the prime directive."</p><p>"Jim, I can count about eleven times you've broken the prime directive, and some of those times were for pretty dumb reasons, so I'm not sure why you have a problem breaking it now. Plus, this is an entirely different dimension so I say the prime directive doesn't even apply in this situation." Kirk opened his mouth to say something in retaliation, his eyebrows furrowed, but Spock spoke up before before he could get out a word.</p><p>"She does have a point, Jim." Kirk decided not to argue, turning to Bones instead.</p><p>"What do you think, Bones?"</p><p>"Well, Jim, we've dealt with contagions in the past, I think we could handle this one. I just need a sample of the virus, then I'll know if it's possible to find a cure. Whether you think this is breaking the prime directive or not, is for you to decide." Kirk sighed.</p><p>"You can try, but just know that getting back to our own dimension is our biggest priority."</p><p>"-and getting my parents back," I added.</p><p>"Yes, and getting Ann's parents back," Kirk agreed, nodding. Spock spoke up again.</p><p>"The most logical first step to returning to our dimension would be to find out what event caused us to be sent here in the first place. We should be able to work backwards from there."</p><p>"Good idea, Spock, I will put you in charge of that. I want a portion of sciences, and a couple of engineers on that." Spock nodded. "Scotty, your job is going to be to keep the cloaking device on for as long as possible."</p><p>"Aye, Sir."</p><p>"Captain," asked a young medical ensign, "where are we going to get the sample of COVID-19 from?" Kirk looked to Bones, waiting for him to answer. I answered instead.</p><p>"At the moment, my friend's dad is sick with the virus. If we could somehow explain the situation to him, we could get the sample from him."</p><p>"That'll work," Bones said.</p><p>"Does anyone else have anything to add," Kirk prompted. When he was met with silence, he dismissed the room. Only Kirk and Bones stayed behind. After a moment of awkward silence, I asked if I could have a tour of the ship. Kirk said he'd be happy to give me one. He held his elbow out for me to take, and I hooked my arm around his as he led me out into the hallway. I could see Bones eyeing Kirk in my peripheral vision, and I tried my hardest not to laugh.  Bones cleared his throat loudly, and we both turned back to him.</p><p>"I'm going to go look through the ship's databases and see if there's anything we already know about COVID-19."</p><p> "Alright Bones, good idea.  Go on then."  He waved at him to leave, and Bones mumbled something under his breath that I didn't quite catch before walking down the hallway in the other direction.  Kirk chuckled, turning to me again.  "I can't show you the entire ship, but I can show you a few rooms."  He started down the hallway, and I followed.</p><p>"I can understand. I mean, this ship is pretty darn huge. I remember looking at a layout online, and I saw that you have a bowling alley and several pools and jacuzzis, is that true?"</p><p>"Yes, yes we do. On decks T and U. Can I see the 'online layout' you mentioned?"</p><p>"My phone is charging back in the house, so I can't at the moment."</p><p>"Your phone? Is charging?" He stopped for a moment, looking at me in confusion.</p><p>"Oh yeah, my mobile cellular device. It can access the internet as well as what we call social media which we use to connect with other people. It can call, text, and you can download other apps and mobile games. In some ways it's like your ship's computers, as we can have access to any information, and we can use it to contact anyone. In physical design, it sort of compares to your PADDs, although it's smaller and the screen takes up most of the device."</p><p>"I've never heard of anything like it. Would you show me when we go back to your house?"</p><p>"Yeah, of course."</p><p>Kirk led me into the elevator and up to the bridge, and I had to stop to take it all in. The large screen up at the front was blank, as it wasn't necessary to see outside at the moment. Lights blinked throughout the room and the comforting constant sound of beeps and blips and quiet chatter of the officers on the bridge could be heard. Ensigns walked freely in and out. "Could you introduce me to Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura?" Kirk nodded.</p><p>"Right this way," he said, gesturing in the direction of Uhura. "Lieutenant, there's someone I'd like for you to meet."</p><p>"Yes?" She turned around in her chair, a smile coming across her face when she saw me. 'Oh, hello, you must be Ann! You can call me Nyota." I was a little flustered by the fact that she knew my name because it meant they must be talking about me on the ship, but I didn't mention it.</p><p>'It's nice to meet you! You're welcome to come over to my house anytime during your break. I've been surrounded by boys, so your company would be refreshing." Uhura laughed, and I heard Kirk snort from behind me.</p><p>"Sure, I'd love to." </p><p>Kirk then led me over to introduce me to Chekov and Sulu. Sulu gave me his name, and he chatted with me for a short while, telling a couple jokes and making me wheeze with laughter. Chekov introduced himself with a wide smile on his face, following with a cheesy pick-up line. I gave a half-hearted smile in return, going along with it. Chekov was cute, but I just wasn't used to people being so forward. Kirk must have sensed my discomfort, because he promptly guided me out the bridge, pressing the button for the elevator to go back down to the lower decks.</p><p>"Thanks," I said, looking at him gratefully.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Thanks for giving me an excuse to leave. I'm don't get flirted with much, and I was totally about to embarrass myself by saying something stupid."</p><p>"Oh, yes, you're welcome." His reaction was weird, almost like I'd misinterpreted and he'd taken me away for a different reason, but I didn't question it. The elevator door opened, and he guided me down the hall to the engineering room. Scotty looked up from his station when we entered, happily waving us over when he saw it was me.</p><p>"Couldn't keep away, could you lass," he said, chuckling. "It's nice to see you again. Would you like me to show you what I'm doing?" I nodded, but the moment he started talking, I zoned out, not understanding a word he was saying.</p><p>"In one ear and out the other," Kirk whispered, quiet enough so only I could hear. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.  After Scotty had shown me everything I needed to see and more in the engineering room, Kirk showed me a few more areas of the ship before leading me to the mess hall to grab a snack.</p><p>I followed him over to a compartment that looked to be full of small square tapes of different colors. If my memory from the show was correct, they each held a recipe for the replicator. "What would you like?" Kirk asked.</p><p>"Hmm, well, the only foods I can remember you having are sundaes, and yigrish cream pie. I think I'll have yigrish cream pie."</p><p>"Two yigrish cream pies, coming up." He picked a red tape out of the compartment, then slotted it into the replicator, pushing a few buttons before stepping back and waiting for it to make the food. After a couple of seconds, a ding sounded, and the replicator door opened to reveal two slices of delicious looking pie. He took one for himself, then handed me the other. He then led me over to an unoccupied table, placing the two plates down and pulling out a chair for me.</p><p>"Thank you," I said, sitting down. He smiled, taking the seat across from me.</p><p>"You're very welcome." I cut off a small piece of pie with my fork, hesitantly taking a bite. Having a meal that was entirely made by a machine was a new experience for me, and I had no idea what to expect. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. The pie seemed to melt in my mouth. It was somewhat like cheesecake, although it was creamier and didn't have the same tangy taste. I took another larger bite, closing my eyes in bliss. I heard Kirk chuckle. "Is it good?" I nodded.</p><p>"So good. How do you not just eat this all the time instead of your weird rainbow sponge cubes?"</p><p>"I can't only have sweets, Bones would blow a gasket. He's already complained about my weight gain, tried to put me on a diet a couple of times." I frowned slightly.</p><p>"I think you're a healthy weight."</p><p>"That's very kind of you, but I do admit I could be in better shape. Don't tell Bones I said this, but my stamina isn't what it used to be, back at the academy." A look of fond reminiscence came over his face.</p><p>"Well, guess you'll just have to have Bones find you a better workout regimen and try eating a bit healthier."</p><p>"No thanks," he said, shoving a large bite of pie into his mouth.  I followed suit, smiling widely.</p><p> </p><p>When we had finished our food and cleaned up after ourselves, we headed back down the hall and took the elevator down to the shuttle bay to exit the ship. Per Kirk's request, we returned to my house and I unplugged my phone and turned it on to show him how it worked. "Alright," I said, pointing to the google search bar on my phone. "See this?"</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"This is the search bar. If you click on it, it takes you to what we call "the internet," which is what gives us access to any and all information we want. Tell me something you'd like to know, and I'll type it in for you."</p><p>"Can it give us current information on COVID-19?"</p><p>"Yes, but it's limited because right now a lot of the information is probably stored in private databases that only the government, or CDC or WHO have access to." Kirk raised an eyebrow at me, and I backtracked. Explaining all this to someone who knew absolutely nothing about it was already proving more difficult than I thought.</p><p>"Center for Disease Control, and World Health Organization. Now, how you search is you type in your question, or a summary of your question, and it'll search using keywords. A lot of pages will come up, and you click on the page you think will serve you best." I typed in 'COVID-19', and watched as the page loaded. "News articles and videos will show up at the top sometimes, especially if it's a current topic. Over on the side here, you can see it's giving us our location with the number of confirmed cases, number of recoveries, and number of deaths."</p><p>"Wow," he breathed, looking at the numbers.</p><p>"Other places are a lot worse." I scrolled down. "Here's a couple of drop down menus suggesting more specific questions people might have, and here's a list of resources. Let's visit this one," I said, clicking on one titled "Novel Coronavirus Outbreak 2020 (COVID-19) :: Washington State." I handed Kirk the phone. "You can scroll through a bit, if you'd like." He briefly looked over the website, before handing it back to me.</p><p>"Bones would benefit more from this information. Now, can you tell me about the 'social media' you mentioned?"</p><p>"Yeah.  There are quite a few different social media apps, but I'll show you this one for now."  I clicked on a colorful icon with the design of a camera, then began scrolling down my feed.  "This is Instagram.  The platform is made to share photos and videos, and you can talk about what you're posting in the caption."  I tapped on my icon, then brought up a picture of some lilies I had taken a couple days ago.  "Here's a picture I posted, and there's the caption."  He leaned over my shoulder and read it aloud.  "'Pretty flowers in my garden.'  Are those lilies?"</p><p>"Yeah," I said, smiling at him.  "They're my favorite.  Besides irises, that is."  Kirk nodded, smirking slightly.</p><p>"That's good to know."</p><p>"This here is what we call the 'like' button."  I pointed to the heart in the corner of my post.  "You tap it to show that you like the post.  You can also comment on it by clicking this speech bubble.  It's a way to give feedback on what people post."  Kirk nodded.</p><p>"Your post only has nine likes, hmm?"  I laughed.  </p><p>"Yeah, I usually don't get many likes on my photography because I don't bother to put as many hashtags.  Sometimes I put none at all, like on this one."</p><p>"Hash...tags..?"</p><p>"Oh yeah, you put them in the caption on your posts to help people find them and to get more traffic on your profile.  They're keywords that have to do with what's in the post, so like this one could be tagged with 'flowers' or 'photography.'  You make a word a hashtag by putting a hash symbol in front of it.  The more hashtags on your post, the better."   Kirk hummed, and I clicked the back button to exit to my profile.  "Each person on here has what we call a 'profile.'  You can choose a username to represent your profile, mine is up here."  I pointed to where it said 'ihascat1' at the top corner of my profile.  "People can put their regular names, or they can come up with something more creative.  Mine is pretty self-explanatory."</p><p>"What's that other name below the picture at the top?  'HalfBloodPrincess.'"</p><p>"Oh, that's my profile name.  By default it's the same as your username, but you can change it like I did.  The picture you mentioned is my profile picture.  It's a picture you use to represent your profile, and it can be whatever you want, like your face, your business name, or an art piece like mine."</p><p>"What is the art of, exactly?  It looks to be a girl, but who is she?"  I felt my cheeks heat up, and I laughed nervously.</p><p>"Uh, she's kind of how I imagine myself in your universe, I guess."  Kirk's face scrunched up in confusion.  'I promise you it's a normal thing in my world, at least on certain parts of the internet, we call them self-inserts or personas.  People do it for all kinds of TV shows and movies and books, even video games."</p><p>"I see," Kirk said, obviously still not quite getting it.  "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I saw pictures of me on your profile."  I swallowed, answering hesitantly.</p><p>"...Yeah.."  Kirk raised his eyebrows, looking at me expectantly.</p><p>"So...can you explain..."</p><p>"You're in a show, remember?  Star Trek?  I post pictures from Star Trek sometimes, and drawings of it as well.  I follow a lot of people who are fans of the show too, and they post stuff related to Star Trek, and they follow me in return because we have common interests."</p><p>"Why are there only photos including me specifically, though?"</p><p>"Hey, there's also some photos of Spock too!"</p><p>"But I am also in those photos-"</p><p>"I---I just think you're cool, ok!"  A wide grin spread across his face.</p><p>"Why, thank you."  I furrowed my eyebrows, pouting at him.</p><p>"You knew why I have those photos on there, you just wanted me to fuel your ego, didn't you?"</p><p>"Now, why would I ever do something like that?  I did have a guess as to why, I just needed confirmation."</p><p>"Yeah, 'confirmation.'  More like a good ass kissing."</p><p>"Alright, alright, you got me.  But who doesn't like a good compliment once in a while?"</p><p>"Ok, I think I'm done explaining my technology to you."</p><p>"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you can keep going!  I'll shut up." He put his hands up in the air in defeat.  "What about the online layout of the ship I asked you about earlier?  You were going to show me that."</p><p>"I promise I'll show you later, but I'm seriously done for now.  I'm gonna make a sandwich, do you want one?"</p><p>"No thanks, I'm full after the pie."</p><p>"Suit yourself, but I'm going to make you eat later because you can't just have pie for lunch."  I walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge to pull out some cheese and pickles.</p><p>"I already have one Bones in my life, I don't need two," Kirk grumbled.  His communicator made a chirping noise, and I heard him answer.  "Kirk here, what is it?"  I paused my sandwich making to listen.  It was Spock.  </p><p>"Captain, I believe there is something you will want to see."</p><p>"On my way.  Kirk out."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Lot of filler in this one, sorry about that.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Update and an Ask</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>not a new chapter, just tellin how things are goin and asking you guys for help :)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hi!  I am sooooooooo sorry that it's been quite a while since I last updated.  I had a bit of a struggle with chapter 3 so I wanted to take a bit of a break and focus on art.  But, now, the dreaded thing has happened: school has begun.  Right now things are pretty chill because we're just getting started, but I know since it's my senior year of high school things are definitely gonna get crazy at some point.  So, basically what I'm tryna say is, I really don't know what's gonna happen with this story.  I am NOT discontinuing, I still have many wonderful ideas for this lil baby fic of mine, I just have no idea what my update schedule is gonna be like, so please don't be upset if this doesn't get updated for really long periods of time :(  I can tell you I have been using writing as a cooldown after school, so maybe I'll just write chapters a teeny tiny bit of a time until I get each one out.  Anyway, I am so thankful for those of you joining me on this ride, so just hang in there!  I promise it's not over yet.</p><p>IN OTHER NEWS</p><p>I've had yet another short one-shot that's been in the works for a bit (still star trek :3), but I am really struggling with Kirk's dialogue in this one.  If anyone is willing to help me, please reach out to me any way you can and I'd be so thankful!</p><p>My insta is ihascat1</p><p>My tumblr is ihascat5</p><p>My twitter is AnnPickles5</p><p>My wattpad is IhasCat5 (and so is my Quotev)</p><p> </p><p>The story is currently on a doc so I can just share it with you.</p><p> </p><p>Thank you so much for your time!  I literally just started on the 4th chapter today, so hopefully it won't take too long to get it out.  Until then everyone~ </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi, y'all, this is my first ever multiple chapter fanfic on here, and I'm excited to be writing it.  I'm not sure about a constant update schedule, but I'll try and be faithful. Feedback and kudos are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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